The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?

JEREMIAH 8:9KJV
Know the Bible

Jeremiah 8:9 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 8:9 mean?

Jeremiah 8:9 says that the so-called wise men of Judah are put to shame and caught off guard because they have rejected the word of the LORD, leaving them without true wisdom. The verse questions what wisdom could possibly remain in them if they have turned away from God’s guidance.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to the people of Judah, especially their leaders and teachers, during a time of national crisis. The verse highlights that those considered knowledgeable or wise have failed because they ignored God’s message (the word of the LORD, H3068), and as a result, their wisdom is exposed as empty. Jeremiah is pointing out the irony that rejecting God’s word (H1697) leaves even the “wise” without real understanding.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 8:9

  • "Wise" (חָכָם, ḥākām): This word refers to those seen as knowledgeable or skilled, often leaders or teachers. Here, it is used ironically, since their supposed wisdom fails them.
  • "Ashamed" (בּוּשׁ, bôsh): This word means to be put to shame or disgraced. The wise men’s failure is not just intellectual but deeply humiliating.
  • "Rejected" (מָאַס, mā'as): This word means to despise or refuse. The wise men’s downfall is directly tied to their active choice to turn away from God’s word, not just a passive mistake.
  • "Word" (דָּבָר, dābār): This refers to God’s message or command. The verse stresses that real wisdom comes from listening to what God says, not just human learning.

Why Jeremiah 8:9 matters

  • Jeremiah 8:9 clears up the idea that human wisdom alone is enough; it shows that wisdom without God’s word is empty and unreliable.
  • The verse emphasizes personal responsibility: the wise men are not victims of ignorance but have deliberately rejected God’s guidance.
  • This verse connects to the wider message of Jeremiah, where the failure of leaders and teachers to heed God’s word leads to the downfall of the whole nation.

Where else these words appear

“dismayed” Hebrew H2865 · used in 48 verses

  • Deuteronomy 1:21 Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
  • Job 31:34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
  • Jeremiah 17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

“ashamed” Hebrew H3001 · used in 67 verses

  • Genesis 8:7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
  • Isaiah 15:6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
  • Jeremiah 51:36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

“rejected” Hebrew H3988 · used in 69 verses

  • Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
  • Job 30:1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
  • Isaiah 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

“taken” Hebrew H3920 · used in 112 verses

  • Numbers 21:32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
  • Judges 9:45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
  • Psalms 59:12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.